Connecting the Dots

Each of our meetings at the museum have been a mix of interesting, educational, and fun, but the one that stands out the most so far was our meeting with Felipe Vargas. The themes that we’ve spent the bulk of our time exploring, international diplomacy and national identity, took on a new light to me after hearing what he had to tell us.

Felipe’s understanding of history and critical thinking showed me new ways to connect my thoughts. Connections, relationships, tradition, innovation, culture, information, knowledge- they all work together, as far as you’re willing to think through things, to dig through your consciousness and not avoid what you find.

We live in the information age, which means it’s not enough to merely know facts. Now that the internet acts as a sort of world-brain of shared facts and ideas accessible by anyone with a computer, the most important skill to have is being able to make that information useful to you. Interpretation, extrapolation, and integration of what your senses tell you, of what media communicates, is the real challenge of life, and the discussion Felipe had with us made me aware of that in ways I never had been before.